Cubs add infielder Alcantara, pitcher Beeler to 40-man roster

Alcantara, 22, last season saw action in Double-A for the first time in his career and earned Southern League mid-season and post-season All-Star honors while also landing a spot on the Topps Double-A All-Star team. Alcantara, who was one of the youngest players in Double-A at 21, batted .271 (134-for-494) with 36 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 69 RBI, 69 runs and 31 stolen bases in 133 games. Alcantara also appeared for the World Team in the Futures Game and recorded a solo home run.

This season, Alcantara ranked second in the Southern League in hits and doubles and was tied for third in stolen bases. The switch-hitter tallied 62 walks en route to a .352 on-base percentage and an .804 OPS. Entering 2013, the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder had totaled 43 doubles and 15 home runs in his first 308 minor league games before tallying 36 doubles and 15 home runs in 2013.

Signed by the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2008, Alcantara entered the 2013 season the 10th best prospect in the Cubs farm system as ranked by Baseball America after batting .302 (100-for-331) in 85 games with Single-A Daytona in 2012 when he earned Florida State League mid-season All-Star honors. A native of Santo Domingo, D.R., Alcantara is a career .279 hitter (467-for-1,671) with 79 doubles, 30 triples, 30 home runs, 213 RBI and 91 stolen bases in 441 games.

Beeler, 24, went 4-2 with a 3.13 ERA (19 ER/54.2 IP) in nine starts with Tennessee last season and continued his campaign with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League, going 4-1 with a 2.49 ERA (6 ER/21.2 IP) in six starts. Combined between the two leagues, Beeler went 8-3 with a 2.95 (25 ER/76.1 IP) in 15 starts, walking only 22 batters and allowing four home runs in 76.1 innings pitched. He started the Arizona Fall League Championship game for Mesa and allowed only one run on two hits in five innings in a 2-0 setback.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Beeler was originally selected by the Cubs in the 41st round of the 2010 Draft. In all or part of four minor league seasons, Beeler is 12-18 with a 3.64 ERA (123 ER/304.0 IP) in 66 appearances, including 58 starts. He has walked only 80 batters in 304.0 innings pitched, an average of 2.4 per nine innings, and allowed only 22 home runs.

Beeler is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended Seminole State College and Oral Roberts University.